Boskone Schedule!

I have been under a bunch of deadlines for editing and writing... and had a bunch of fresh new health issues pop up over the past couple of weeks...but despite being late posting this, I am SUPER EXCITED to be returning to Boskone this year! And DAMN, look at that great schedule!

And if I’m not on a panel... I’ll likely be found at the Broad Universe table in the Dealer’s Room...

or, if it’s Friday Night, I’ll be throwing the Broad Universe Party again!  Look for us on the hotel Party Floor!

Outside of tabling and partying, here’s my fabulous schedule:

Tarot and Divining Fantastic Fiction

Format: Discussion Group

16 Feb 2018, Friday 17:00 - 18:00, Lewis (Westin)

Author and Tarot guru Trisha Wooldridge leads a discussion on Tarot, fortune-telling, and the art of the seer in fantasy and science fiction. Trisha will provide a live demonstration.

Trisha Wooldridge

Folktales Within Poetry

Format: Panel

16 Feb 2018, Friday 18:00 - 19:00, Marina 3 (Westin)

From “The Lady of Shalott” to “Goblin Market” to The Iliad, some quite engaging poems are inspired by folklore, legends, or myths. What other examples can we add — perhaps from non-European poetry? What do folk sources bring that an original story might lack? Our panelists will discuss (and perhaps read) some of their favorites — what are yours?

Theodora Goss (M), Jane Yolen, C. S. E. Cooney, John Chu, Trisha Wooldridge

Group Reading: Fiction for Kids and Young Adults

Format: Reading

17 Feb 2018, Saturday 12:00 - 13:00, Griffin (Westin)

Boskone presents a special group reading for lovers of children's and young adult fiction. Our authors provide a range of stories and topics that are sure to delight and entertain!

Kristy Acevedo, Daniel P. Dern, Erin M. Hartshorn (M), Sarah Jean Horwitz, Justin Key, Trisha Wooldridge

Notes

This is a special group reading designed to generate a larger crowd in order to introduce more people to the work highlighted in the session. There may only be 5 chairs at the table. If so, we ask that the moderator has a couple extra chairs moved to the table area. The group reading is scheduled for 50 minutes and each reader has 5-minutes to read. Please be sure to time your reading to ensure that you don't go over time. The "moderator" is assigned to welcome everyone to the reading and announce that each reader will introduce herself/himself along with their piece as their turn to read comes up. If there is time available, please open the room to questions.

Border of the Unknown

Format: Panel

17 Feb 2018, Saturday 17:00 - 18:00, Marina 1 (Westin)

Much fine fantastika involves crossing the boundary between the known and the unknown — especially that uneasy border between the village and the trees. Let's look at the long history of that great unknown, the enchanted forest. Why has it pushed and pulled at people’s imaginations since ancient times? To find out, let’s stroll away from safety and into the woods, as the liminal light fades and the shadows gather all under the boughs unbowed …

Theodora Goss, Errick Nunnally (M), Trisha Wooldridge, Dana Cameron, Gerald L. Coleman

Open Mic: Myths & Legends!

Format: Event

17 Feb 2018, Saturday 20:00 - 21:00, Galleria - Stage (Westin)

Live from Boskone: A special selection of tall tales as told by our program participants — plus audience members. All show off their open mic skills in the third annual Boskone Open Mic extravaganza. This year features the myths and legends of yesterday, today, and tomorrow! Each participant contributes his/her most legendary performance — a 5-minute story, poem, song, skit, interpretive dance, or whatever!

OPTIONAL: For extra appeal, feel free to come dressed as your favorite mythic or legendary character.

The Rules: Boskone members are invited to join our participants in the open mic by signing up for one of the six open slots at the door to the event, which opens for sign-ups at 7:30 p.m. Each performer is given a firm 5-minute time limit (max), including setup time. So a quick transition between acts is key. Please no profanity: DragonsLair is within hearing distance.

Elaine Cunningham (M), Lauren Roy, Kenneth Schneyer (M), C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Gabriel Erkard, E. Ardell, Benjamin Newman, Roberta Rogow, Don Pizarro, Trisha Wooldridge, Mary Ellen Wessels, Edward L. Stauff

Neil Gaiman Anniversary Reads

Format: Panel

18 Feb 2018, Sunday 13:00 - 14:00, Harbor II (Westin)

It’s a notable year for Neil Gaiman, with publication anniversaries for his engaging, ironic dark fantasies The Graveyard Book (10th) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (5th) — plus from his lighter side, Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion (30th). Let's gab about his novels and stories, comics and characters, movies and TV adaptations and rock-star aura.

Bracken MacLeod (M), Jane Yolen, Justin Key, John Langan, Trisha Wooldridge

Halloween Blog Tour: Vonnie Winslow Crist

Welcome to the Wicked, Weird and Whimsical Words Halloween Blog Tour!! A few of my author friends from Broad Universe and I adore Halloween, so we're trading blog posts every other day for this last week of October.

I'm thrilled my first post is from Vonnie Winslow Crist, a woman after my own heart when it comes to faery tales and folklore. I just love her post here!

Happy Halloween!!

Ogerhunches and other Goblins by Vonnie Winslow Crist

Goblins are dark Faeryfolk often associated with Halloween. They appear in fantasy literature and film from J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter to scary nursery rhymes like Little Orphan Annie by James Whitcomb Riley. And there are so many terrifying varieties of goblins that a Red-cap, Bogy, Padfoot, Barguest, Tankerabogus, Grindee, or Ogerhunch could be hiding under your stairs this very minute!

Not all goblins are as fearsome as Red-caps who wear hats died crimson in the blood of their victims. Nor as frightening as a Bogy who is known to follow people around calling out, “I want my bones.” Nor as unnerving as a Padfoot who walks behind an unsuspecting person, then runs up to his side and roars. Nor as scary as a Barguest with its horns, teeth, claws, and fiery eyes. Nor as dreadful as a Tankerabogus who comes and carries naughty children away to its pit-hole. Some goblins are actually more terrifying!

When I wanted to add goblins to my Young Adult fantasy adventure novel, The Enchanted Skean, I had to decide what my goblins would be called and what they'd look like. Plus, I wanted to give them characteristics which would make them repulsive and fascinating at the same time.

The first type of goblin I created are Grindees. They're smallish nocturnal goblins that travel in swarms of 20

to 30 individuals. Grindees chase down travelers, devour both animals and humans, then steal whatever valuables they possessed. They have glowing orange eyes, mottled skin, elongated fingers, multiple horns, and wide mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. Able to speak in a hissing, lispy manner, Grindees are happy to let a person know just how much they despise humans – just before they bite them.

When it came to creating the second type of goblin for The Enchanted Skean, I decided to find an archaic word for a frightening creature. One of the fabulous words I found in Jeffery Kacirk's The Word Museum was Ogerhunch. According to Kacirk an Ogerhunch is “Any frightful or loathsome creature, especially a bat.” Well, I'm a fan of bats, so I decided to make my Ogerhunches goblins that looked like forest debris and stumps. A horde of Hunches will sneak up unnoticed, knock their victims to the ground with their branch-like limbs, then suck their juices out with their rootlets. Luckily for the protagonist in my novel, Ogerhunches aren't especially smart and they're afraid of fire.

In the sequel to The Enchanted Skean, Grindee and Ogerhunches are sure to appear. The trick will be to add an even more devious goblin to the mix.

So this Halloween when your doorbell rings and you open your door to trick-or-treaters, keep your eyes peeled for goblins. It's easy to separate them from the neighborhood kids – their ugly faces aren't masks and they don't come off with make-up remover. And remember “you better mind your parents and your teachers fond and dear, and cherish them that loves ya, and dry the orphans tears and help the poor and needy ones that cluster all about, or the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!”

About the guest writer: Vonnie Winslow Crist is author of a YA fantasy novel, The Enchanted Skean, 2 speculative story collections, The Greener Forest and Owl Light, and other books. A firm believer that the world around us is filled with mystery, miracles, and magic, Vonnie celebrates the power of myth in her writing.

Read an excerpt of The Enchanted Skean featuring Grindee goblins: http://vonniewinslowcrist.com/books/the_enchanted_skean_excerpt

Learn more about Vonnie and her writing: http://vonniewinslowcrist.com  and http://vonniewinslowcrist.wordpress.com  Become her fan: http://facebook.com/WriterVonnieWinslowCrist  and http://goodreads.com/vonnie_winslow_crist  Follow her: http://twitter.com/VonnieWCrist  Purchase Vonnie's books: http://tinyurl.com/Vonnie-Winslow-Crist-Amazon and http://tinyurl.com/Vonnie-Winslow-Crist-UK-Amazon

The Wicked, Weird and Whimsical Words Halloween Blog Tour runs every other day October 23-October 31.  Join us all five days for Halloween fun!  Be sure to say hello on any post to be entered in a giveaway at the end of the tour!